Frequently Asked Questions

Chatham-Kent Council has made the decision to proceed with exploring the process for moving the Civic Centre, Library and Museum to the former Sears building in Downtown Chatham. The current Civic Centre, Library and Museum, located in different locations around downtown Chatham, are all in need of significant renovations. The current civic centre, built in 1975, is in need of significant repairs and renovations. The Library Master Plan (2008) recommended for an expansion of the Chatham Branch to 35,000 sq. ft. in order to address accessibility, industry standards, community usage, and new service opportunities. The current site has constraints which would impact the options that could be considered for expanding this facility in place. The Chatham-Kent Cultural Centre is also limited by size, and has particular constraints to expanding to address the Museum’s storage needs in its existing location. Taking all of this and more into account, Council has decided to explore the option to colocate these three entities under one roof in an integrated Community Hub in downtown Chatham. Colocating these three entities offers the possibility for an expanded library, expanded museum and civic centre. 

Staff are developing an updated refined cost estimate as part of the Detailed Concept Design phase of work, which will be brought back to Council for consideration this summer with the concept design. A preliminary estimate/financial plan of $53 million (excl. HST) was developed as part of the work completed to date for the option to purchase the former Sears building and relocate the civic centre, library, and museum into the building. This included a comparison of the option to relocate into the former Sears building with renovating the current buildings in place and identified a marginal cost increase to relocate into the former Sears building that presents the opportunity to include the expanded library and museum space in an integrated Community Hub.  

Renovating the existing Civic Centre and moving the Council chambers was estimated to be approximately $37 million (excl. HST). The base renovation would cost approximately $27 million dollars, while moving Council Chambers to the first floor for accessibility reasons would cost approximately $10 million dollars. This does not include the Fire Hall attached to the Civic Centre, or the current Library or Cultural Centre.

Our first step will be to see whether the buildings can be used for other Municipal purposes. One potential use by the Municipality may be for housing, though further financial and technical reviews would be needed before determinations are made. The Municipality has detailed processes for selling buildings that are surplus to municipal needs. This includes a series of municipal council approvals. The first involves Municipal Council deciding whether or not the building is needed for Municipal purposes. If Council decided that the buildings are not needed, generally the Municipality offers buildings to other public agencies that may need them, at fair market value. If no other public agency indicates an interest, the buildings are listed for sale on the market. Council will have the ability to determine if they wish to add any terms on the potential sale of the building, such as encouraging that the buildings be used for private sector housing or other appropriate needs. Any offers to purchase the buildings will ultimately come back to Municipal Council for consideration.  

This is incorrect. The purchase price of the Sears building and the property itself was $2.95 million.

As part of the purchase of the building, the Municipality has secured access to 175 parking spaces in the parking garage and parking lot on the mall property for staff. Citizens attending the library, civic centre or museum will be able to use the parking structure and surface parking. The Municipality will also be provided with access rights from the parking, through the mall. Currently there is no cost for parking charged to mall users, but in the event that the mall owners begin charging for the public use of the parking areas in the future, the Municipality also has a right to secure an additional 25 spaces for use by the general public attending the civic centre, library and museum. The Municipality will also review the property at the rear of the former Sears building and the on street areas adjacent on King Street for potential parking, and pickup-drop off uses.

Yes, there will be parking for both visitors and staff coming to the proposed Community Hub. As part of the purchase of the building, the Municipality has access to parking spaces in the existing garage and surface lot for the mall property. Additionally, the Municipality will also review the existing paved area to the rear of the former Sears building and the on-street areas adjacent on King Street for potential parking and pick-up/drop-off uses. Proposed changes to the on-street parking in the area will include consultation with the public, adjacent properties and BIA.

The current civic centre, built in 1975, needs significant repairs and renovations. There are significant issues with aging HVAC systems, plumbing, roof system, and accessibility shortcomings. A renovation of the Civic Centre has been estimated at a cost of $37 million (excl HST), not including the Fire Station, Library or Museum.

The Municipality of Chatham-Kent retained a third-party independent consultant to conduct a review of the structural and building envelop systems. The following is an excerpt from the report: 

“We find no evidence of notable structural concerns that could impact the reported renovation plans. It is our opinion that, assuming normal maintenance of building systems and appropriate engagement of design professionals as part of renovations, the structure of the building can last an additional 50 plus years. The main roof is about 12 years old and should last another 10 years with normal maintenance.” The full report can be found here: https://www.letstalkchatham-kent.ca/30765/widgets/162228/documents/124967 

The current Civic Centre is not a designated historical building.

This will be determined by the Fire Master Plan, which is being worked on now. Stay tuned.

The existing Civic Centre in downtown Chatham has accessibility deficiencies, which will need to be addressed either through relocation of the building into a new Civic Centre or renovation of the existing building.

The existing Library on Queen Street in Chatham has identified accessibility deficiencies such as the exterior ramp to enter the building and within the building. The ramp is currently in acceptable condition meeting previous accessibility code, however, should repairs or reconstruction of this ramp be required, it will need to be constructed to meet current code for improved accessibility.

The existing museum has some accessibility deficiencies at the entry to and within the museum space.

This is incorrect. The Municipality of Chatham-Kent paid $2.95 million for the property and the building An appraisal produced by Robson Associates Inc. for the lands, building, and parking garage at the DCC property provided an appraised value of $2,208,000 to $2,434,000. This appraisal was conducted before Administration determined it would not be beneficial to obtain ownership of the parking garage. Administration has obtained an assessment from a third-party consultant, estimating the costs that can be avoided in construction by using the existing building structure of the Sears portion of the DCC. That review estimates potential savings of $11,738,340.

Initial designs have the library being primarily located on the first floor of the Sears building, with the second floor being reserved for office space.